Means to Increase Texts Accessibility for Primary Schoolers with ASD during Teaching Process

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are often limited in understanding spoken and written language. To make texts accessible for children with ASD specialists use means that improve understanding of verbal or written information and make learning process more successful. The article discusses why children with ASD have difficulties in precepting and understanding textual information, for example, poor vocabulary, ignorance of words lexical meaning, misunderstanding of figurative language or hidden meaning behind words due to poor social experience. We present the main working areas to develop and improve speech understanding: improving reading skills, developing the ability to listen to an interlocutor, developing phrasal speech, forming initial grammatical representations, etc. The main text types that children encounter in the classroom are also listed, for example, instructions, rules, tasks, literary works. We also offer tools that facilitate working with texts, make them more accessible, and adapt to individual capabilities of students. We give practical recommendations that will be useful both to teachers working with students with ASD and their parents.

1. Happé F. Vvedenie v psikhologicheskuyu teoriyu autizma [Autism: An Introduction to Psychological Theory]. Moscow: Publ. Terevinf, 2006. 215 p. ISBN 5-901599-52-7.
2. Bogorad P.L., Zagumennaya O.V., Khaustov A.V. Adaptatsiya uchebnykh materialov dlya obuchayushchikhsya s rasstroistvami autisticheskogo spektra: Metodicheskoe posobie [Adapting educational materials for autistic students: Handbook]. Moscow: Publ. Federal Resource Center of the Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, 2017. 80 p. ISBN 978-5-94051-156-4.
3. Geidman B.P., Misharina I.E., Zvereva E.A. Matematika: Uchebnik dlya 1 klassa obshcheobrazovatel’nykh organizatsii: Pervoe polugodie [Maths: 1st grade general education schoolbook: First semester]. Moscow: Publ. Russkoe slovo: Publ. Moscow Center for Continuous Mathematical Education, 2017. 136 p. ISBN 978-5-533-01152-5.
4. Efimenkova L.N. Korrektsiya ustnoi i pis’mennoi rechi uchashchikhsya nachal’nykh klassov: Posobie dlya logopeda [Correction of oral and written speech in elementary school students: Speech therapist’s handbook]. Moscow: Publ. Vlados, 2001. 334 p. ISBN 5-691-00819-6.
5. Kanakina V.P., Goretskii V.G. Russkii yazyk: 2 klass: Ucheb. dlya obshcheobrazovat. organizatsii [Russian language: 2nd grade: General education textbook]: in 2 pts.: Pt. 2. Moscow: Publ. Prosveshchenie, 2017. 143 p. ISBN 978-5-09- 046614-1.
6. Kornev A.N. Narusheniya chteniya i pis’ma u detei: uchebno-metodicheskoe posobie [Reading and writing disorders in children: Teaching handbook]. Saint Petersburg: Publ. MiM, 1997. 286 p. ISBN 5-7562-0004-5.
7. Kornev A.N. Psikhologiya usvoeniya chteniya [Psychology of learning to read]. In Inshakova O.B. (ed.) Pis’mo i chtenie: trudnosti obucheniya i korrektsii: Uchebnoe posobie [Writing and reading: Challenges in learning and correction: Teaching handbook]. Moscow: Publ. MPSI; Voronezh: Publ. Modek, 2001. Pp. 79—87. ISBN 5-89502- 258-8.
8. Kostina I.A. Hyperlexia: A short review of the history of the study. Autizm i narusheniya razvitiya = Autism and Developmental Disorders (Russia), 2005, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 7—13.
9. Mamokhina U.A. Speech features in autism spectrum disorders. Autizm i narusheniya razvitiya = Autism and Developmental Disorders (Russia), 2017, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 24—33. DOI:10.17759/autdd.2017150304
10. Misarenko G.G. Didakticheskii material dlya razvitiya tekhniki chteniya v nachal’noi shkole: Ucheb. posobie [Didactic material for developing reading technique in elementary school: Teaching handbook]. 3rd ed., reworked. Moscow: Publ. Institute for innovation in education: Publ. Oniks, 2003. 128 p. ISBN 5-329-00780-1.
11. Moro M.I., Volkova S.I., Stepanova S.V. Matematika: 1 klass: Uchebnik dlya obshcheobrazovatel’nykh uchrezhdenii [Maths: 1st grade: Schoolbook for general education]: in 2 pts.: Pt. 1. Moscow: Publ. Prosveshchenie, 2021. 127 p. ISBN 978-5-09-022195-5.
12. Pereverzeva D.S., Mamokhina U.A., Davydova E.Yu. et al. Receptive Language in Primary-School-Aged Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Klinicheskaya i spetsial’naya psikhologiya = Clinical Psychology and Special Education, 2021, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 137—161. DOI:10.17759/cpse.2021100407
13. Svobodina I.E., Kuchaeva S.V. Formirovanie leksiko-semanticheskogo ponimaniya i emotsional’nogo vospriyatiya teksta u detei s autizmom [Formation of lexical and semantic understanding and emotional perception of the text in autistic chilrden]. Autizm i narusheniya razvitiya = Autism and Developmental Disorders (Russia), 2011, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 13—29.
14. Khotyleva T.Yu., Galaktionova O.G., Akhutina T.V. Profilaktika i preodolenie trudnostei v obuchenii na rannem etape: Metodicheskoe posobie [Preventing and overcoming challenges in education at the early stage: Teaching guidelines]. Moscow: Publ. V. Sekachev, 2013. 108 p. ISBN 978-5-88923-358-9.
15. Chistyakova L.A. Ya chitayu... [I read...]. Autizm i narusheniya razvitiya = Autism and Developmental Disorders (Russia), 2011, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 47—55.
16. Accardo A.L., Finnegan E.G. Teaching reading comprehension to learners with autism spectrum disorder: Discrepancies between teacher and research-recommended practices. Autism, 2019, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 236—246. DOI:10.1177/1362361317730744
17. Accardo A.L. Research synthesis: Effective practices for improving the reading comprehension of students with autism spectrum disorder. DADD Online Journal, 2015, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 7—20.
18. Arutiunian V., Lopukhina A., Minnigulova A. et al. Language abilities of Russian primary-school-aged children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence from comprehensive assessment. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2021, vol. 52, no. 2, pp. 584—599. DOI:10.1007/s10803-021-04967-0
19. Arunachalam S., Luyster R.J. The integrity of lexical acquisition mechanisms in autism spectrum disorders: A research review. Autism Research, 2016, vol. 9, no. 8, pp. 810—828. DOI:10.1002/aur.1590
20. Åsberg J. Patterns of language and discourse comprehension skills in school-aged children with autism spectrum disorders. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 2010, vol. 51, no. 6, pp. 534—539. DOI:10.1111/j.1467- 9450.2010.00822.x
21. Habib A., Harris L., Pollick F. et al. A meta-analysis of working memory in individuals with autism spectrum disorders. PLOS ONE, 2019, vol. 14, no. 4, article no. E0216198. 25 p. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0216198
22. Jokel A., Armstrong E., Gabis L. et al. Associations and dissociations among phonological processing skills, language skills and nonverbal cognition in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica, 2021, vol. 73, no. 3, pp. 222—232. DOI:10.1159/000505744
23. Norrelgen F., Fernell E., Eriksson M. et al. Children with autism spectrum disorders who do not develop phrase speech in the preschool years. Autism, 2015, vol. 19, no. 8, pp. 934—943. DOI:10.1177/1362361314556782
24. Rose V., Trembath D., Keen D. et al. The proportion of minimally verbal children with autism spectrum disorder in a community-based early intervention programme. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 2016, vol. 60, no. 5, pp. 464— 477. DOI:10.1111/jir.12284
25. Singh B.D., Moore D.W., Furlonger B.E. et al. Reading Comprehension and Autism Spectrum Disorder: a Systematic Review of Interventions Involving Single-Case Experimental Designs. Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2021, vol. 8, pp. 3—21. DOI:10.1007/s40489-020-00200-3